Icy Feet and Hot Legs
by RicardianScholar Clark-Weasley
Summary: In which Marinette's sleeping habits and Chat Noir's need to tease her lead to an identity reveal.


Marinette wasn't sure how it started just that it did.

One night, many weeks ago, she slept with Chat Noir - _platonically!_ – and ever since they shared a bed with one another.

Chat Noir had been visiting her for months now. his visits went from five minutes check-ups after Akuma attacks to lingering moments on her balcony as they talked to full out movie nights and games nights. Then one movie night dragged onto the early hours and Marinette woke up find that she and Chat were entwined in each other's arms.

They had immediately jumped apart and stammered out incoherent words before Chat stumbled out as hastily as he could. Marinette thought she could die of embarrassment as she buried herself under her covers and that that would be the last she would see of Chat Noir.

But he came back that very evening armed with chocolates as he bashfully apologise. Marinette could remember saying something to reassure him and then suddenly he was staying the night, and had stayed every night since.

It was just so….nice.

There was something comforting, something warm, something …safe and sound, about the warmth of his body, the sound of his heart beating beneath her ear, his gentle touch when he absentmindedly ran his claws through her hair, and then there was something _addicting_ about having his strange scent of leather, cheese, and spice surrounding her.

Marinette wondered if it would be just as nice to share a bed with Adrien and instantly flushed at the thought.

"Marinette?" Chat tilted his head curiously. "Are you okay? You just went bright red." A glimmer of mischief and delight sparkled in his eyes as he smirked. "Was it the thought of another night in my _purre_ sence?"

Marinette rolled her eyes at the pun. "No it is not!" she said quickly as she felt her cheeks heat up again. "I was thinking about something else entirely." Chat opened his mouth but she hastily carried on before he could ask exactly what it was she was thinking about. Chat Noir had been rather merciless when it came to teasing her about her crush on Adrien Agreste. "Come to bed, I have to get up early tomorrow morning," she patted the space beside her and he eagerly jumped onto the bed with catlike grace, "and don't hog the covers this time I barely had any last night."

"I wouldn't need to" Chat Noir said with mock haughtiness, "If you didn't keep pressing your ice cube excuse of feet against my legs."

Marinette gasped melodramatically. They had now had this 'fight' five times in the last two weeks. She knew that Chat Noir really didn't mind having her feet against his legs at all. He just liked to tease her. "You take that back!" she cried out indignantly. "My feet are not like ice cubes!"

"Never!" Chat exclaimed. "They're _fur_ eezing!"

Marinette groaned as she snuggled deeply into her covers.

"It's not my fault you have hot legs."

She had meant it as in Chat Noir emitted lots of heat. Even though his superhero suit was made of cool leather she could still feel the heat of him through it and as she suffered from the cold greatly, she couldn't help but automatically cuddle up close to this wonderful source of heat.

Chat, however, interpreted this in an entirely different way.

"You think I have hot legs?"

Marinette's eyes popped open as she heard the mirth in his voice and it sank in entirely how her words could come across. "No!" she yelped as she sat up. "Not like _that_!"

Chat Noir smirked at that. " _You do_!" he teased. "You think I have hot legs. You think that my legs are _sexy_."

" _Gah_!" Marinette cried out. "That's not what I meant!"

"Marinette thinks I have hot legs!" Chat sang out. "Marinette thinks I have hot legs!" Marinette tried to take a swipe at him but he artfully dodged her and leaped off of her bed to prance around the room. "Marinette thinks I have hot legs! Marinette thinks I have hot legs! Marinette thinks I ha- _oomph_!"

Marinette felt rather smug in seeing her pillow swiftly hit Chat Noir's pretty face.

Unfortunately it did nothing to shut him up whatsoever.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

It was another boring day at school and Nino had no expectations of anything interesting happening whatsoever.

And he was completely right.

It was only five minutes in but the only interesting thing that has happened was the fact Adrien turned up to school wearing shorts. Yeah, not very exciting unless you were a fangirl. Nino so far had seen five girls swoon and multiple gaggles suddenly shriek in delight as they passed on their way to class.

" _Dude_!" Nino exclaimed in exasperation as they entered the class room. "Summer is ages away." And he was right, it was only early April currently. It wasn't particularly warm and they were more prone to rain currently. So in conclusion…not short wearing weather. "Why are you wearing shorts?!"

"Well you see," Adrien said with an uncharacteristically mischievous grin on his face, "I hear that my Princess admired my _hot legs_."

And then he met a pink-faced Marinette's eye and winked.

He _winked_!

At Marinette!

In _a knowing way_!

Nino was utterly gobsmacked.

He hadn't even realised that Adrien had finally gotten a clue about Marinette's feelings for him let alone worked up a nerve to flirt so outrageously.

Alya looked equally shocked as her mouth dropped open and Marinette instantaneously turned a deep red that rivalled the scarlet of Ladybug's suit.

" _Mpfl_!" Marinette squealed incoherently. And then suddenly her eyes widened and she gasped as she shot out of her seat. "Oh my God!" she cried out. " _You_!" she pointed at Adrien. "You – I – you - _Oh my God_!"

Adrien's smug smirk slipped off of his face as a look of horrified realisation blossomed on his face. As if it only just occurred to him that he had been flirting with Marinette.

" _Crap_!" he cursed. Marinette suddenly sprang to life and darted towards the classroom door. "Wait!" Adrien cried out as he reached out to grab Marinette. She avoided it with rapid reflexes and escaped through the door. "Marinette!" Adrien shouted after her. "Wait!"

And then he too vanished out of the classroom door.

Nino and Alya exchanged baffled glances. "What was that all about?" Alya demanded to know.

"No idea," Nino shrugged, "….was it just me or was Adrien's bag _cackling_?"

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

Adrien groaned into his pillow.

How could he be so _stupid?_

He had been so caught up in teasing Marinette as Chat Noir that he had completely forgotten that she didn't know he was Adrien Agreste. _How_? How did something as important and significant as his _secret identity_ slip his mind?! How did he let Marinette's adorable flustered yet utterly snarky reactions to his teasing make him forget every important rule of being a superhero?

God, Ladybug was going to _kill_ him.

If Marinette didn't first.

It was one thing to let the heroic Chat Noir sleep in your bed but it was another thing entirely to find out that the classmate who you don't like very much has been cuddling up to you in bed.

She probably hated him more than ever now.

"Cheer up, Kid," Plagg advised him, "it's not that bad."

"Not that bad?" Adrien repeated as he shot up. " _Not that bad_?!" he yelled. "Plagg! She ran away from me. She didn't want to talk to me. She locked herself in the bathroom to _escape_ me. I waited for her for ages but she never came out. I'm half convinced she climbed out of the window. She's never going to want to see me again," he said bleakly, "I've lost my best friend."

"You're such a drama queen," Plagg rolled his eyes, "I'm sure you'll find once she's calmed down your Princess would have forgiven you."

"Don't give me false hope, Plagg," Adrien flopped back onto his bed melodramatically, "she hates me. She never liked me much to begin with…now….she'll hate me with her with every fibre of her being."

" _Teenagers_!" Plagg rolled his eyes again.

He then zoomed off back to his camembert and left Adrien to his brooding. It was now well past midnight and Adrien still hasn't been able to fall asleep. His bed was too big, too cold, and too _empty._

He missed Marinette.

He missed her warmth, he missed the way she smelt like cookies, he missed her little snuffy sounds she made in her sleep, and he missed having someone to hold and who wrapped their arms round him too.

He even missed her cold feet pressed against his legs.

 _Tap, tap._

Adrien frowned as he sat up again slowly. For moment, he could have sworn he heard someone knocking at his window lightly. He listened carefully to hear nothing but Plagg noisily devour his cheese and shook his head.

 _Tap, tap._

Adrien's head swung automatically to glance at the window and immediately his jaw dropped open at the sight of someone actually crouching on his window sill. " _Ladybug_?!" he cried out disbelievingly.

Ladybug nodded at him. "Can I come in?" she mouthed.

Adrien moved without even thinking as he leaped to his feet and yanked the window open. " _My Lady_?!" he cried out as Ladybug clambered into his room. "W-w-what are you doing here?!" he half squeaked.

He hoped to God that Marinette hadn't already told Ladybug.

He still hadn't worked out how to explain the whole thing to Ladybug without sounding like a reckless playboy or something.

"I missed you," Ladybug said bluntly. Adrien blinked dumbly at that. Wait, _what?!_ How could Ladybug miss him? They _never_ spent time together as Ladybug and Adrien! "It's not fair," she carried on despairingly as she stepped further into his room. "I miss your warmth, I miss listening to your heart beat, I miss the way you hold me, God," she said disgustedly, "I even miss your stupid _puns_. I am surrounded by your scent, it's all over my bedsheets, and on my pillow, but you're not there with your stupid hot legs and silly grin."

Adrien's brain short-circuited at that.

He had to be dreaming.

He just had to be!

Because there was no way Ladybug was standing here in his room talking about sharing a bed with him and missing him unless he was dreaming or Ladybug was Ma-

Ladybug dropped her transformation to reveal Marinette in her cutest, most adorable, pink pyjamas. Her Kwami vanished rather quickly into Plagg's directions and Adrien could vaguely hear them murmuring between themselves. Marinette however, ducked her head down in embarrassment as she sat down on his bed. Her beautiful, big, blue eyes were solely focused on her own toes as they brushed against his plush carpet.

Adrien choked on the very air in his lungs.

"You….I….we…" he stammered out. "…I…bed…you…."

"I know, I know," Marinette said hastily, "but I can't sleep without you, Kitty. We can talk about it in the morning after some sleep once it all sinks in."

Adrien nodded numbly in agreement as his tongue seemed to be suffering technical difficulties.

There is a very long silence as Marinette finally summoned up the courage to give him an expectant stare.

"…So are you going to stand there all night," she murmured, "or are you going to come and warm my feet up, Hot Stuff?"

Adrien scrambled to get into bed and happily held his arms out for Marinette to roll into them. He nuzzled her soft, silky, black-blue hair and sighed blissfully as he felt her icy toes press against his actual skin for the very first time.

He fell asleep almost immediately at that and it was the best night of sleep in his life so far.

(And what more, even better, he had great reason to hope that every night onwards would be just as good when he is greeted that following morning by Marinette's most radiant smile.)


End file.
